Allegra Print and Marketing Downtown has upgraded its envelope printing ability. We have added the OKI 900 enveloper printer to our production equipment. This new digital printer gives us the ability to print just black, 2 or 3 colors, or full CMYK color envelopes. This new machine is fast and required very little set up so we can provide printed envelopes to our customers in just 1 or 2 days. When you need envelopes give us a try!

Creating and distributing relevant information to attract an audience and, ultimately, drive profitable customer action is the backbone of content marketing. But without the right resources, having a powerful strategy that delivers on your investment is hardly a sure thing. In fact our recent study of small and medium-sized business marketers conducted with an independent research firm identified the lack of content creation resources as the biggest obstacle to an effective program. Allegra Print and Marketing Downtown can be a useful resource to help you create effective content for your marketing efforts.

According to a survey by Two Sides, people prefer paper-based media; 70% (including 69% of 18- to 24-year-olds) say they prefer to read print and paper communications rather than reading off of a screen. Once you’ve spent the time, effort and money to create valuable, relevant content, here are a few reasons why print delivers…and can help your great content get noticed and remembered.

Marketing Insider is an award winning publication featuring marketing help and information for businesses and non-profits. Marketing insider is a professional piece that you don’t expect from the printer down the street and we provide this information to our customers at no cost. The latest issue focuses on content marketing like infographics, writing case studies, and high impact print.

Call or email me to get the latest copy of Marketing Insider:
Carl Nordholm
435-0701
carl@allegragreenbay.com

Allegra Print and Marketing Downtown is more than just a Printer. We offer a full array of Marketing Services including Direct Mail. It is thought that Postal Mail is old fashioned and email is the way to communicate today. However, recent surveys show that people prefer getting information through Postal Mail over Email/Online.

Reasons for Preferring Postal Mail over Email/Online:
1) Can read the info when it is convenient for me.
2) Can refer back to the info when needed.
3) Can take the info easily to different places.
4) Can pass info along easily to others.
5) Already get too much email.
6) Would prefer not to have to print the info.
7) It is more private if sent through the mail than sent by email.
8) A lot of info online can’t be trusted.
9) I trust info received by mail more than online.

Custom logos by Allegra Downtown show the personality of the business.

When an auto repairman, dentist or store owner build their own logo, the result is usually the name typed into a circle or square, or heaven-forbid, word-art! (Oooh, I cringe at the thought.) Rather, when a creative professional designs a logo it is a treasure with a splash of color, relevant fonts, and a snippet of that business’ personality. One of our favorite projects at Allegra Downtown is logo design. It’s a blank canvas just begging for creativity, originality and style.
Our process for logo development includes three steps that tap into our creative sense.

1. Our designer likes to meet with the client. We talk about the history of the business, future plans and goals for the business, the perception of the business in the community, the clients’ likes and dislikes. Each is a vital part of a logo.

We recently met with the owner of seven greeting card shops in the midwest states. She told us of an advancement at one of her stores. That store will now be selling more giftware, fresh flowers, coffee items and possibly bakery items. She wanted that store to be named 1-4-3 Expressions in honor of her father. He was shy and cautious as a young man, apprehensive to sign his cards to his wife with the phrase “I love you.” Instead he wrote 1-4-3, the number of letters in each word. It was a great story and surely worthy of incorporating it into the logo. Our designer scurried off to her computer. The logo ideas spilled out easily.

2. Our designer builds at least three logo concepts. She typically creates one looking close to what the customer described, trying to capture the idea in the client’s head. Another logo design is typically a conservative version leaning toward a more serious, professional look. A third logo design might fit a more edgy, fun or whimsical identity. Sometimes the designer includes an additional idea that came to her creative sense, usually an idea that came from the client meeting. She’s not afraid to throw a concept into the mix and often it becomes a client favorite. All our logo designs are vector based and print easily and economically. We meet with the client again to present our logo designs.

We met with the greeting card shop owner again and presented these designs. She loved the secret message in the last logo concept that discreetly explained 1-4-3 without distracting from the design.

3. The concepts presented are a starting point. Often the client chooses the design of one option, the color of another and the font of a third. We tweak the design until the client loves it. Once a final logo is established, we convert the design to several formats: vector eps, jpg, tiff, png, color, black and white, with tagline and without. We burn them to a dvd for the client to use everywhere.

The greeting card shop owner adjusted the design slightly and we tried several color variations. When we arrived at the final design, she showed her father. He loved the idea and said, “1-4-3….. 4-4.” She was puzzled and asked what the extra 4-4 meant? He answered “very much.”

Here is the final logo.

Call us at Allegra Downtown to update your business logo. 920-435-0701

On Tuesday, September 30, 2014, Carl and Abbie Nordholm, owners of Allegra Print and Marketing Downtown Green Bay, were presenters at the first meeting of Creative Connections. Creative Connections, recently launched by Mosaic Arts, is a new group of arts organizations of all disciplines in the greater Green Bay area. Carl and Abbie discussed the importance of print marking, including logo design, brochure design and printing and catalog design and printing. They also discussed the three components of a direct mail campaign: the list, the offer, and the creative. More details on this in a future blog.

We just finished designing and printing this 8 page brochure for Manitowoc Tool and Machining. It features their equipment, capabilities, and most importantly their quality. This brochure will be an integral tool for the sales team when marketing and promoting their company. Take a look at the pdf to see what we can do for you and your business.

If you think of promotional items as throwaways or afterthoughts in a marketing campaign, think again. The Advertising Specialty Institute polled more than 7,000 consumers in 21 metro areas to gauge their impressions . . . and the results may surprise you. Consider:

76% of consumers who own calendars say they display them prominently in their homes or offices.

Recipients of ad specialties are passing them along, extending the advertisers’ reach. In fact, 63% of U.S. respondents said that when they receive a logo’ed item they no longer wish to keep, they give it to someone else; 64% do the same in Canada.

Promotional product recipients clearly remember the advertisers on the items they receive. A majority (86% in the U.S. and 85% in Canada) can recall the company name.

Want to learn more? Contact Carl, carl@allegragreenbay.com, 920-435-0701, to get the latest products and deals.